I just couldn't do it...

[Wifezilla]

I found a have-a-heart trap at a garage sale. I figured I would use it to catch the squirrels that keep destroying my garden and taking all my pears (we had a full tree and didn't get a single pear). The plan was to trap them, dispatch them and put the meat to good use.

Well I caught one yesterday. Despite all the damage they have done over the years, I just couldn't do the deed. As much as I hate the tree rats, I couldn't kill it, so it got relocated to a park several miles away.

I know, I know...I just put my problem on someone else by not taking care of the squirrel.
(A homeless guy who watched me release the squirrel did call me kind though...LOL)

Hi, my name is Linda and I am a marshmallow

 

[Brindlebtch]

Wifezilla, I never would have expected that of you! I am SHOCKED and APPALLED!

Everyone gets to be a marshmallow sometimes.

Even you.

 

[possumqueen]

Hey, wifezilla,

You're not a marshmallow, sweetie. You're just a nice person who found out that it's harder than it looks.

Try a scarecrow. There's one you can get for about $80 at scatmat.com. It's a motion detector attached to a water hose. It detects critters and sprays them with water up to 35 feet away. Critters being as superstitious as they are get creeped out and stay away.

 

[Wifezilla]

I looked at those but I figured my idiot cats would just keep setting it off...LOL

Plus the scare crow is over $70. I got the have-a-heart for $5.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Practice and theory can be quite different. As ruthless as I am, I still have a few soft spots. When I took 50 squirrels out of my back yard in less than a month, I did relocate them instead of dispatching them. The density was so great, when I took some out, others in my neighborhood took their place.

I learned that you need to relocate a squirrel at least 7 miles so they won't find their way back home.

Depending on how rural or urban you are, you might talk to animal control to see what your best options of releasing them are. You might also find out what the laws in your area are. It varies state by state and city by city.

I had a friend that would trap squirrels in his urban back yard and relocate them to a friend's place well out in the country. Then when squirrel season opened, ...... I think you get the drift.

 

[Wifezilla]

Humm...looks like I need to make a phone call...

"Tree squirrels, cottontail rabbits and raccoons can be relocated without a permit, provided that:

• The Division has been notified in advance.
• The relocation site is appropriate habitat for the species.
• Permission has been obtained from the landowner or managing agency where the animal will be released.
• The relocation must occur within 10 miles of the capture site. "

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
the bad news here is, is that 10 miles is the normal range on any of these critters. They'll be back. Trust me.

 

[Wifezilla]

It will be more likely that squirrels from nearby will move over and fill in the void.

I may have to learn how to dispatch them. We'll see

 

[wombat]

If she lives 20 miles or so from a state forest, calls a state agency, and volunteers that she lives "near" said forest, I doubt they'll ask exactly how near. Better a good habitat 20 miles out than a bad one within the 10 mile limit, IMO. I'd cheat a little bit.

If you're going to do this, better do it really soon, though. They need time tobecome aclimated, find food, and store food for the winter. If you rehome them much later in the year, you're likely condemning then to starvation over the winter.

 

[purpletree23]

Wifezilla......I did the same deed with chipmunks. I couldn't kill those cute little buggers. They were eating/hiding more of my chicken pellets than my girls were eating so I took them on a long drive to a huge area without houses and a stream nearby.

Oh....by the way your pumpkin seed recipe was awesome. Had them last night watching the football game.

My husband now calls me Wifezilla but I think it's a compliment.